Where to Begin: The Recommended Reading Path
For the best reading experience, it is highly recommended to start with the first novel, Any Witch Way You Can (2012), and follow the main mystery sequence in publication order. The series follows the life, magical development, and relationships of Bay Winchester, meaning that skipping books will lead to major spoilers regarding her family secrets, career, and romance with FBI Agent Landon Michaels. While individual mysteries are solved in each book, the overarching character growth and town mythology build continuously from one installment to the next.
If you want to experience the full depth of the Winchester universe, you should integrate the short stories and the fantasy books. The short stories add delightful seasonal flavor and minor character details, while the fantasy spin-offs (which often feature Aunt Tillie causing magical havoc) explore alternate realities or deeper memories. To read everything in strict publication order, simply follow the combined timeline of all three formats as they were released.
Main Wicked Witches of the Midwest Mysteries
The core of the series is the main mystery novels following Bay Winchester. These should be read in the following order:
- Any Witch Way You Can (2012) - Book 1: Introduces Bay Winchester, Hemlock Cove, and Landon Michaels.
- Every Witch Way But Wicked (2013) - Book 2: Bay investigates the town drunk's mysterious death.
- Witching You Were Here (2013) - Book 3: Strange occurrences and ghosts keep Bay on her toes.
- Witching on a Star (2014) - Book 4: Family history begins to unravel during a new investigation.
- Something to Witch About (2014) - Book 5: Bay tackles curses and quirky tourists.
- Witch Me Luck (2015) - Book 6: A bank robbery and a persistent ghost disrupt the town.
- Life's a Witch (2015) - Book 7: A death at a local retreat forces Bay to dig deeper.
- Charms & Witchdemeanors (2016) - Book 8: Landon and Bay face a complex new magical threat.
- The Trouble with Witches (2016) - Book 9: Small-town rumors and murder collide.
- Murder Most Witchy (2017) - Book 10: Holiday chaos and a suspicious death.
- A Witch Before Dying (2017) - Book 11: Dark secrets from Hemlock Cove's past resurface.
- A Breath of Witchy Air (2018) - Book 12: A summer festival is ruined by a murder.
- Witch, Interrupted (2018) - Book 13: Bay finds herself in the middle of a family feud.
- Flip the Witch Switch (2019) - Book 14: Modern tech and ancient magic clash.
- Witchin' Around the Clock (2019) - Book 15: A race against time to solve a ghostly mystery.
- To Love a Witch (2020) - Book 16: Landon and Bay's relationship faces new challenges.
- The Witch is Back (2020) - Book 17: Old enemies return to Hemlock Cove.
- Prelude To A Witch (2021) - Book 18: Tensions rise as wedding planning officially begins.
- My Big Fat Witch Wedding (2021) - Book 19: The long-awaited wedding day is crashed by magic and murder.
- Friday The Witchteenth (2022) - Book 20: Slasher-movie vibes come to Hemlock Cove.
- Lights, Cameras, Witches (2022) - Book 21: A film crew brings drama, cameras, and a corpse.
- Dial W For Witch (2023) - Book 22: Phone scams and magical fraud lead to tragedy.
- White Witchmas (2023) - Book 23: A winter wonderland is threatened by a cold-blooded killer.
- All Quiet On the Witchy Front (2024) - Book 24: Bay sleuths through a deceptively quiet town.
- The Usual Witchspects (2024) - Book 25: A classic whodunit with a magical spin.
- Last Witch Attempt (2025) - Book 26: Bay confronts high-stakes magical secrets.
- Witch Like No One Is Watching (2025) - Book 27: The Winchester cousins team up to solve a baffling case.
- Big Witch Energy (2026) - Book 28: Aunt Tillie and Bay navigate a chaotic power struggle.
Wicked Witches of the Midwest Fantasy Series
Unlike the core mysteries, the Fantasy subseries focuses on magical escapades, alternate dimensions, and deeper lore. They are best read alongside the main books to understand character relationships, particularly Aunt Tillie's antics:
- Witchy Tales (2015) - Book 1: Aunt Tillie traps her nieces in a book of twisted fairy tales.
- A Witch in Time (2016) - Book 2: Bay and Landon journey through Aunt Tillie's memories.
- Make a Witch (2017) - Book 3: An experimental spell creates unexpected clones and chaos.
- A Witchmas Carol (2017) - Book 4: A festive take on the classic Dickens tale with a magical twist.
- All My Witches (2017) - Book 5: Aunt Tillie curses her family into a dramatic soap-opera world.
- Close Encounters of the Witchy Kind (2018) - Book 6: Sci-fi themes mix with Hemlock Cove magic.
Wicked Witches of the Midwest Short Stories
These shorts and novellas provide lighthearted glimpses into life in Hemlock Cove. They are ideal for quick reads between the main novels:
- Careful What You Witch For (2015)
- Wicked Brew (2015)
- On a Witch and a Prayer (2015)
- You Only Witch Once (2015)
- The Christmas Witch (2015)
- Bewitched (2016)
- A Solstice Celebration (2016)
- Witchdependence Day (2016)
- Happy Witchgiving (2016)
- Merry Witchmas (2016)
- Four-Leaf Clover (2017)
- Thistle While You Work (2017)
- Landon Calling (2017)
- I Dream of Twila (2017)
- How Aunt Tillie Stole Christmas (2017)
What to Know Before You Start: Continuity and Crossovers
Amanda M. Lee has created a massive, interconnected universe where characters from her various series interact. While you can read the Wicked Witches of the Midwest on its own, you will occasionally see crossover events. Specifically, Freaky Witches (Book 7 of the Mystic Caravan series) features a major team-up between Aunt Tillie and Nellie. Other crossovers occur in the Charlie Rhodes Mystery series (starting with Book 1, The Bigfoot Blunder), the Two Broomsticks Gas & Grill series (Books 2, 3, and 4), and the Spell's Angels series (Book 6, A Crone to Pick). Following the author's master timeline helps clarify how these characters cross paths.
Additionally, if you prefer buying in bulk, the author has released multi-book omnibus collections (such as How Witch It Is collecting Books 1-3, and Between a Witch and a Hard Place collecting Books 4-6) which are a budget-friendly way to catch up on the series.